“She loves Jax, too,” Pia went on. “And she loves you, but she doesn’t want to.”
Well, that tracked. He felt a burst of delight followed by a crushing sensation of regret.
“You can’t let her leave,” Pia said again.
“I’ll work on it, little one,” he promised.
“You’re the Ruler,” Pia said. “You can just tell her to stay.”
“That’s not how it works, my sweet,” he chuckled.
“Then why are you called that?” she asked.
“I get to help adjust and enforce the rules,” he explained. “I don’t get to make them up.”
Pia slipped out of his arms looking disgruntled, and rejoined her brother at the Gambit board.
But Jax had given up and was playing halfheartedly on his comms like he always used to do before Yasmine came around and included him in her activities with Pia.
Pia rested her face against the portal, looking desolate.
The woman had been out of the room for less than five minutes and his family was practically falling apart.
Take it easy, Kreed. You’re being dramatic.
But how was he supposed to feel? The best thing to come into their lives since Breeta died was about to disappear on them. If he wanted to make things right, he might just have to embrace a little drama.